Safety appliance for elevators.



No. 682,7l9. Patented $ept. l7, 190i.

J. H. KUGHLER, SR. SAFETY APPLiANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

(Application filed. Apr, 3, 1901.)

(No Plludel.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

N0. 682,7l9. Patented Sept. l7, I90l. J. H. KUGHLER, Sn.

SAFETY APPLIANCEFOR ELEVATORS.

I (Application filed Apr. 8, 1901.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheat 2.

mi: uonms PETER! ca. lmormurmowumumu. n. c.

UNITED STATES;

JOHN H. KUGHLER, sa,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 682,719, datedSeptember 1'7, 1901.

Application filed April 8, 1901 To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. KUGHLER, Sr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Danville, in the county of Vermilion and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SafetyAppliances for Elevators, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to safety appliances for elevators; and its objectis to prevent. the loss of life and injury to persons due to thestarting of the elevator eitherup or down before the door in theelevator-shaft is closed. This I accomplish by the means hereinafterfully described, and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of an elevator-shaft,havinga portion of the grating inclosing the same broken away, so as toexpose a portion of the mechanism carried by the elevator-truck, whichappears back of said grating. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of anelevator-truck having myiuvention applied thereto and showing {an edgeview of the front structure of the elevatorshaft and sliding doortherein. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the clamping mechanism of myinvention, showing the manner of its support and connection with theactuatinglever, which latter is shown as having its upper portion brokenaway. Fig. 4: is a plan view of the same with the clevis of the clamp-vbar attached thereto. Fig. 5 is a section through a portion of thesliding door of the elevator-shaft and the trip-bolt attached thereto.Fig. 6 shows a transverse section through the upper portion of theactuatinglever of my invention, taken on line 6 6, Fig. 1. Figs. 7 and 8are detail views showing modified forms of links for the clevis of my,invention. Fig. 9 is a plan view of a modified construction of thecable-engaging end of the clamp-bar, having the major part of 45 itslength broken away. Fig. 10 is a plan View of one end of the bed-platewhich supports the clamping-bar. Fig. 11 is a side edge View of the sameand the portion of the clamping-bar supported thereby. 'Fig. 12 is aplan view of yet another modified construction of the cable-engagingendof the clamp- Serial No. 54:,108. (No model.)

closed. For this purpose I secure to the in- I nor side of the saidelevator-door 1 a pyramidal-headed bolt 0, which is normally shotoutward from its housing R by means of a coil expansion-spring Q,surrounding its extension P, which latter is of reduced dimensions andpreferably has its end opposite said head extended through a suitableguideopening in the rear end of said housing. The lower side of thehousing R is provided with a longitudinal slot U, down through which thelug V extends from the head 0 of the bolt to limit the movement thereof.The housing R is box-shaped and has its rear edges flanged and securedto a suitable front plate T by means of screws S, the whole arrangementbeing secured to the rear of the door in such manner and in suchposition that as the door is opened the head 0 of the bolt willyieldin'gly contact with an angular-shaped longitudinal'ridge M, securedto or made integral with the upper end ofa lever H. This lever H isfulcrumed at a point N to the front of the elevator-cage, as shown inFig. l,and when the head 0 of the bolt contacts therewith it imparts tosaid lever a limited movement, which is determined by the stop-pins b b,projecting forward from the plate a, secured to the front of theelevator-cage near the upper end of the lever, as shown. When said leverstrikes against either pin, the bolt yields and rides over the ridge M.Lever H is "of the first class, and itis s0 fulcrumed that the lowershorter branch or arm thereof extends down below the floor of theelevator-cage'and has its lower extremitysuitably connected by means ofa clevis I and a series of links G G, 2, and 3 to one end of alongitudinally-reciprocal clamping-bar, which may be made in one piecethroughout its entire length or may consist, as shown in the drawings,of

two plates a and 0, the ends of which overlap each other and areadjustably secured together by means of the bolts D, which extend downthrough a longitudinal slot (3 in plate it into plate 0, so that theclamping-bar may be made adjustable longitudinally to adapt it for usein connection with different-sized elevators. This clamping-bar restsupon and is supported by a bed-plate g, which is secured to the lowerhorizontal portion of a series of brackets or hangers J J, secured toand depending down from the floor of the elevator cage or truck. Iprefer to incline the bedplate 9 downward from the end adjacent to thelever H to the elevator-starting rope or cable Y, although thisis notessential,and the clampbar is retained on the bed-plate and itsmovements are controlled and directed by the guide-straps F F F,substantially as shown. If desired, the clamp-bar may rest upon theant-ifriction-rollers A A A, (shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings,) so asto reduce the friction, which would otherwise be caused if theclamping-bar rested directly upon the bed-plate.

These antifrict-ion-rollers, however, may be dispensed with. In the endof the bed-plate farthest from the lever 11 it is provided with asuitable opening B, through which the starting rope or cable Y passes.In order to facilitate the entrance of the starting-rope into opening B,a lateral slot K, between the same and one edge of the bed-plate, ismade. After the insertion of the starting rope or cable into opening Bit is prevented from independently working its way out of said slot bymeans of a small plate L, bolted to the same. The contiguous end of theclampingbar terminates at or near this opening B, and its end edge isprovided with a notch or recess E,so that when the said clamp-bar isshot longitudinally toward the openingB the starting rope or cable isbit and clamped between the opposing edge of said opening and the end ofthe clamp-bar. Some elevators employ a looped or endless starting ropeor cable, and in this event both stretches of the rope pass up throughthe elevator truck or cage. In order to apply my invention to such anelevator, I prefer to construct the end of the clamp-bar n substantiallyas shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, in which a head-platefis shownsuitably attached about its center of length to the end of the plate aof the clampbar, with two notches or recesses E therein, which arelocated a sufficient distance apart to engage both stretches of thestarting rope or cable. Although not shown in the drawings, it isobvious that the employment of this head-plate in order to make itoperate requires two suitably-located startingrope openings B in thebedplate, instead of one.

In Fig. 12 I illustrate yet another modified construction for therope-engaging end of the clamp-bar. This modification consists insecuring to the under side of the plate a of the clamp-bar an L-shapedplate, the verticallydisposed portion of which passes down through alongitudinal slot in the bed-plate and then extends horizontally andlongitudinally under said bed-plate to the vertical plane of the end ofplate a. This would practically provide the clamp-bar with two legs, oneabove and one below the opening B of the bed-plate, so that when saidclamp-bar is moved to engage the starting rope or cable it more securelyclamps the same between three surfaces, the central one of which pushesagainst the rope in one direction and the two outer surfaces of whichbear against and push the rope in the opposite direction.

It will be apparent thatin view of the many different constructions ofelevators and the dimensions of the same and the position of thestarting rope or cable some adjustable connection must he made betweenthe actuating-lever H and the clamp-bar. I can accomplish this invarious ways. The means shown in the drawings for accomplishing thisresult consists of aseries of links G G, 2, and 3. Links G G preferablycorrespond in construction and dimensions and are provided with a seriesof clevis-openings therethrough, whereby the two can be pivoted togetherby an independent bolt at any angle and in any manner desired. One ofthese links G is always swiveled to the lever and at its end farthestfrom the clevis is pivoted by the same pivot-bolt e to which one end oflink 2 is pivoted to the bed-plate g, and link 2 has its end farthestfrom bolt e pivoted to the contiguous end of the clamp bar or plate 0thereof, and pivotally connecting the end of link 2 to the end of theother of said links G is a short link 3. The pivotal connections betweenthese various links and links 2 and 3 with the clam p-bar is of such acharacter that both the segmental movements and the straight movements,as of the clamp-bar and the actuatingiever, are accommodated. Theconnection between the link G and the short link 3 is not a pivotalconnection, and when the device is in operation these links are notmovable relative to each other. Their connection is adjustable toaccommodate the relative positions of the starting-rope and the lever;but when the desired adjustment is etfected they are tightly clampedtogether by the bolt in, and' then they act as one link, wherebymovement of the lever H is communicated to the clamp-bar. In Fig. 7 thelinks are shown as slotted, in which case they may be more readilyadjusted. In Fig. 8 they are shown as combined into one link. This hasthe objection that it is not adjustable; but it illustrates the actionof the links when clamped together and can be used when the dimensionsare known and the links specially made.

I do not desire to be confined to the exact arrangement and constructionof the principal mechanism of my invention as heretofore described,because it is evident that in order to make the same a success under thevary- IIO ing conditions with which they would have to be usedconsiderable latitude would have to be allowed in this respect.

What I claim as new is- 1. The combination with an elevator cage ortruck, the starting rope or cable, devices for clamping said rope, andmeans for actuating the same which are supported by said cage or truck,of a sliding door for the elevatorshaft, a normally shotrearwardly-projecting bolt which is adapted to engage the actuatingmeans when said door is being opened or shut, as and'for the purpose setforth.

2. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, longitudinally-extensible reciprocal devices for clamping saidrope or cable, and alever fulcrumed to said cage or truck and adapted toactuate said clamping devices,of a sliding door for the elevat or-shaft,and a normally shotrearwardly-extending bolt which is adapted to engagesaid lever when said door is being opened or shut, as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, horizontally-disposed reciprocal devices for clamping said ropeor cable, and a vertically-disposed lever fulcrumed to said cage ortruck, and adapted to actuate said clam ping devices, of a sliding doorfor the elevator-shaft, and a normally shot rearwardly-extendin g boltwhich is adapted to engage said lever when said door is being opened orshut, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, horizontally-disposed longitudinallyextensible reciprocalclamping devices, and a verticallydisposed lever fulcrumed to the frontof said cage or truck having its lower end suitably articulated withsaid clamping devices, of a sliding door,and means carried thereby whichare adapted to engage said lever when said door is being opened or shut,as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a bedplate suitably supported below said cage or truck having anopening in one end through which said starting-rope passes, and alongitudinally-extensible reciprocal clamping-bar carried thereby forclamping said rope, means for actuating said clamping-bar which aresupported by said truck, of a sliding door for the elevator-shaft, anddevices carried thereby whichare adapted to engage said actuating meanswhen said door is being opened or shut, as and for the purpose setforth.

6. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a-horizontally-disposed bed-plate attached to and suitablysupported below said cage or truck having an opening in one end throughwhich said starting-rope passes, a longitu'dinally-extem siblereciprocal clamping-bar carried by said bed-plate, and means forreciprocating the same which are supported by said cage or truck, of asliding door for the elevator-shaft, and devices carried thereby whichare adapted to engage said actuating means when said door is beingopened or shut, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a horizontally-disposed bed-plate suitably supported 'by saidcage or truck, having an opening adapted to engage said lever when thedoor is being opened or shut.

8. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a horizon'tally-disposed bed-plate having an opening therein fromwhich said starting rope or cable passes, a vertically-disposed leverfulcrumed to the front of said cage or truck, and adjustable devices forconnecting the lower end of said lever to said clamping-bar whereby theoscillatory movement of the lever imparts a reciprocal movement to theclampingbar, of a sliding door for the elevator-shaft, and devicescarried thereby which are adapted to engage said lever when said door isbeing opened or shut,

9. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a bedplate supported by said cage or truck, hav-- ing an openingtherein through which the starting rope or cable passes, a clamping barcarried thereby and consisting of two longitudinally-adjustable platessuitably secured together, a vertically disposed lever fulcrumed to thefront of said cage or truck, adjustable devices connecting the lower endof said lever and said clamping-bar whereby the oscillatory movement ofthe former imparts a reciprocal movement to the latter, of a slidingdoor for the elevator-shaft, and suitable devices carried thereby whichare adapted to engage said lever when said door is being opened or shut.

1O. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a bedplate supported by said cage or truck, having an openingtherein through which said rope or cable passes, a vertically-disposed1ever fulcrumed to the front of saidcage or truck, a series of suitablyarranged and articulated links pivotally connected to said clamping-bar,and a clevis connecting said links to the lower end of said leverwhereby the oscillatory movement of the latter imparts a reciprocalmovement to said clamping-bar, of a sliding door for the elevator-shaft,and

suitable devices carried thereby which are adapted to engage the leverwhen said door is being opened or shut.

11. The combination with an elevator cage or truck, the starting rope orcable, a bedplate supported by said cage or truck, having an openingtherein through which said starting rope or cable passes, a reciprocalclamping-bar carried thereby, a verticallydisposed lever fulcrumed tothe front of said cage or truck having a longitudinally-dis- I posedridge projecting forward from its upper branch or arm, and suitabledevices conmeeting the lower end of said lever to said clamping-barwhereby the oscillatory movement of the former imparts a reciprocalmovement to the latter, of a sliding door for the elevator-shaft, anormally shot rearWardly-extending yielding bolt carried by said doorand adapted to engage the ridge of said lever when said door is beingopened or shut, as and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN H. KUGHLER, SR. Witnesses:

ALLEN S. Comm, J. II. DAVIS.

